Hat-fulling machine



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JOHN WHAETON, or NEWARK, NEw JERSEY.

HAT-FULLING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Iietters Patent No. 243,743, dated July 5, 1881.

Application filed April 4, 1881.

To all 'whom it may concern Be it known that l, JOHN VHARTON, residing in the city of Newark, county ofEsseX, and State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new -and useful Improvements in Hat-Fulling Machines, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthe same.

My invention relates to an improved fullingmill for fulling hats; and it consists in a revolving barrel provided with partitions having -numerous apertures formed in them, and pref- Ythe barrel shall be partly immersed in water,

of a steam-coil arranged in the bottom of the tank for keeping thewatcr at a boiling temperature.

1t also consists in the combination, with such barrel mounted upon a tank of boiling-water, of a hood or cover arranged to inclose the barrel upon the tank and prevent the escape of heat and vapor from either the tank or the barrelA My invention isshown in the drawings anneXed, wherein Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of my improved machine on a plane transverse to the axis of the barrel, and Fig. 2 is a plan of the machine with the hood removed and the upper doors of the barrel taken off to show the construction of the interior.

The object of my invention is to full the hatfelts more uniformly than they can be under the action of any machine employing fulling beaters or hammers, the latter always operating much more effectively upon certain hats in every dozen subjected to their iniuence, and very commonly knocking the felts a great deal out of the desired shape.

To secure this improvement in a fulling-machine, and to operate upon a great quant-ity at once with rapidity, as a fulling-mill alone is able to do, in distinction from the various rollers and aprons employed forfelting hats, which only operate upon a few bundles at once, I construct my machine to'raise the hat-bodies that they may fall upon knobs or projections which correspond in their action with the hammers of a fulling-mill. The advantage of my (No model.)

arrangement is that the weight of the hat determines the force of the impact with the knob or projection which it strikes, and such weight being practically uniform, the effect is to felt any number of hats subjected to the machine with great uniformity.

To operate upon a great number of hats at ence by this method l employ a revolving barrel provided with doors for access to its interior, and mounted upon a tank of hot water, sothat thefelts may be immersed in the water as the wheel revolves. I employ partitions in the barrel, arranged radially, so that they may lift the hats as the wheel revolves, and form for the later sizing operation ribs,

knobs, or uneven projections of any kind upon the inside of the barrel and upon the partitions, against which the hat-bodies fall when raised to a certain height. The ribs and knobs also prevent the sliding'of the hats upon the partitions as the wheel revolves, and secure their being lifted the desired amount.

In the drawings,Ais theA tank; B, the coil; b b', the inlet and outlet to the same, connected to the coil by couplings b. C is the barrel 5 c c, flanges to carry the journals d ud, which are supported by bearings d fastened to the tank B. D is the tank-supply pipe, and E a waste-pipe to drain the tank. F F are the doors of the barrel; G, the partitions; H, the hood over the tank,'and I its door, which is shown partly open in Fig. 1 to indicate its operation. One of the doors F is also shown partly open, and the compartment connecting therewith is supplied with ribs e upon its walls, which are shown ot' uneven or gradually in creasing dimensions from one side of the apartment to the other, that the felts may experience a greaternumber of blows in falling than if they rolled uniformly over even pro jections. The ribs e are shown in the plan in Fig. 2 as broken up longitudinally, and the various sections disposed alternately with holes i, which are formed in the partitions and doors to permit the free passage of the hot water.

The surface of the partitions may be proA vided, if preferred, with round or oval knobs, as shown at f, and the knobs and ribs may be made of wood, india-rubber, or other suitable material, and may be removable, that the bar rel may be used with smooth walls for the ear IOO lier stages of the felting process. In such case the partitions may be formed with radial slats, as shown at J in both figures, having radial openingsj between them for the passage of the water. By making the barrel from six to eight feet in diameter the fall ofthe felts is quite considerable as the barrel turns over, and the fullin g operation is advanced with great rapidity.

For fulling that class of felts which requires slower treatment I revolve the barrel slowly; but for quicker Work rotate the barrel about sixty times per minute.

In such a receptacle I can place over five hundred hats at once and scald them more4 quickly and more uniformly than a man can size a dozen by hand.

The advantage of myimproved apparatus is especially great in the fulling ofwool hats, which require the use of a great deal of soap in the boiling waterto remove the natural and applied oil from the fibers. The cleansing of the bers is promoted with great rapidity by the great heat which can be obtained by entirely closing the hood H, the vapor of the boiling water then acquiring a certain pressure and penetrating the berswith great force.

Bymeans of the large radiating surface furnished bythe coil B,I am able to raise the temperature of the water in the tank with great rapidity, and can thus safely draw oi' the foul liquid from the wool felts a number of times during the fulling operation, replacing it with a fresh solution of soap through the supplypipe D, and thus cleanse the Wool quicker than by any other process.

By removing the grease more eifectually from the goods the felts are made softer and their quality materially improved.

Where steam is not available to heat the coil the tank may be made of metal and arranged over afurnace adapted to generate the steam and hot vapor from the liquid in the tank.

If preferred, the hood may be made without a door and arranged by the aid of a counterbalance to rise and fall when access is desired to the tank or barrel.

Spring-catches may also be applied to the doors ofthe barrel, instead ofthe buttons shown at lc.

I am aware that it is not new to inclose hats in a revolving barrel under the influence .of steam alone, and I do not therefore claim such a construction or mode of operation, the same having' been already patented in 1880 by Patent No. 227,330; but in the barrel there described and claimed no partitions are shown and no tank of waterin which the hats are immersed during a portion of each revolution; and as it is the combined effect of those features which makes my apparatus effective for the scaldin g, washing, and fulling operations, I claim them in the following manner:

l. The fulling-mill for scalding, fulling, and sizing hat-felts, consisting of the barrel C, provided with partitions G, having perforations t' orj and doors F, and mounted upon the tank A, supplied With Water, and coil B, or equivaient heating device, substantially as herein set forth.

2. In combination with the tank A, coil B, and barrel C, provided with perforated partitions and operated for the purpose set forth, the hood H, arranged to cover the barrel and tank at pleasure, as herein shown and described.

3. In combination with the barrel C, arranged upon a tank to revolve partially in the water, as herein described, and provided with radial partitions having perforations for the free passage of water, the ribs e or knobs f, arranged and operating as herein fully set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN WHARTON. Witnesses:

Trios. S. CRANE, GHAs. LITTLE. 

